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2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Model.)

I P. EOAU-BERTJ V DEVICE FOR MANUFACTURING WATCH CASES. No. 416,832.

Pqtented Dec. 10, 1889.,

v (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet2.

P. EGAUBERT.

DEVIGE FOR MANUFACTURING WATCH GASES.

No. 416,832. Patented Dec. 10,1889.

Ag A 9 E- M own/021' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE;

FREDER'IC EOAUBERT, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

DEVICE FOR MANUFACTURING WATCH-CASES.-

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 416,832, dated December 10, 1889.

Application filed May 20, 1889. Serial No. 311,448. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I, FREDERIO ECAUBERT, of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented an Improvement in Tools for Manufacturing VVatch-Cases, of which the following is a specification.

In Letters Patent No. 253,355, granted to me February 7,1882, tools for making watchcase centers are represented, and a reference is hereby'made to the same for a description of the general mode of operation made use of in the manufacture of watch-case centers according to my present improvements.

Heretofore it has been usual to connect the lid of the watch-case or the ring or bezel for the glass to the watch-case center by springing the rim around an annular projection upon the watch-case center, and efforts have also been made to connect the bezel and the lid with the watch-case center by means of screw-threads; but difliculties have arisen in forming these threads, because the sheet metal made use of usually has a thin gold surface upon a plate of brass or similar material; hence, if the screw-thread is out or chased by a tool, the gold is cut through and removed to a considerable extent, and with gold cases the metal usually is too thin for the screw-thread to be cut in it, and besides this, great difficulty arises in forming a perfeet thread up to the flange or shoulder for the lid or bezel, because in a perfectly-made screw-thread the inclination at the end of the thread dies out gradually and it is nearly impossible to cut this part of the thread perfectly by a tool.

In my present invention I am able to make tools for forming the screw-thread in such a manner that the screw-thread itself upon the watch-case center, lid, or bezel will be perfect and at the same time the center lid or bezel is completed, or nearly so, inthe die beforebeing removed therefrom.

In the drawings, Figure l is a section in larger size of the dies made use of by me in making the watch-case center. Figs. 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 are sections of the rolls made use of successively in spinning up or forming the watch-case center within the die, andFig.7 is a section of the die made use of in spinning up the bezel. Figs. 8, 9, and 10 are sec.- tions of the rolls made use of in forming or pressing up such bezel. of the die for applying the screw to the edge of the watch-case lid, and Figs. 12 and 13 are sections of the rolls employed with such die.

The two principal parts E and G, Fig. 1, in my improved tool maybe similar to those in my aforesaid patent, and they are to be received into a chuck or holder mounted upon the spindle of a lathe of any suitable character and revolved and the dies are introduced and clamped by such chuck or holder. The

dies are ring-shaped, as in said patent, and

one of the special novel features in the present invention relates to the screw-forming die A. This annular die A is adapted to be received into a holder, and the interior of this die A is screwthreaded; hence, this screwthread can be made within the open interior portion of such ring-die with the greatest accuracy, and the portion of the screw-thread which is exposed and made use of in forming the screw portion of the watch-case is determined by the surface 2 of the die G and the surface 3 of the ring-die A, and this ringdie A can be screwed upon the portion G of the die, as shown in Figs. 7 and 11, or the screw- Fig. 11 is a section thread can be turned off and the die G recessed, so as to receive a portion of the ringdie A, as seen in Fig. 1. In either instance the exposed portion of the screw-thread is perfect and complete, and any screw-thread that is formed thereby, in consequence of the sheet metal being pressed against the same, will have a perfect screw-thread from end to end, and the width of the screw-threaded surface of the article is usually determined by the face 2 of the part G and the face 3v of the ring-die A, and this feature of my invention will be found in all the dies represented herein; but the shapes of the dies employed vary to suit the particular article. In consequence of the metal being pressed outwardly into a perfectly rigid die, every portion of the screwt-hread becomes of exactly the right size, thus avoiding the inaccuracies in cutting screw- IOO are accurately fitted so that when clamped they assume exactly the same relative positions after the completion and removal of each successive watch-case center formed within such annular die.

The interior of the annular die D, Fig 1, may be more or less ornamented, so that the exterior of the watch-case center is formed thereby, with the desired character of ornamentation, and this annular die D is to be made in sections or broken apart, so as to be capable of being removed from around the exterior of the watch-case center after the latter has been formed therein,-as described in my patent, No. 270,644.

In Fig. 1 the annular dies represented are adapted to making the watch-case center with a screw-thread at one side for receiving the bezel of the watch-glass, and with ribs 5 and 6 at the other side of the watch-case center over which the lids are to be snapped.

In making the watch-case centers, a ring that is stamped up by dies, as heretofore usual, and such as is shown in Fig. 7 of my aforesaid patent, No. 253,355, is to be placed within the annular dies, and a roller, such as the roller F, 2, is first made use of to press the watch-case center outwardly and expand the same against the annular die D, and at the same time the sheet metal is pressed against the screw-threads of the annular die A. A roller approximating that shown at G Fig. 3, is next made use of to compress the inner edges of the sheet metal and thicken them, and to press them into the grooves for forming the ribs 5 and (3, and against the screw-thread, and then such rollers as H, I, and K, Figs. 4, 5, and (3, are employed in succession to force the metal firmly into the grooves for completing the ribs 5 and 6 and to fold over and double the sheet metal at 8 to form the seat for the watch-works, and during all these operations the sheet metal is pressed outwardly, and there is no tendency to injure the screw-thread within. the die A, but on the contrary to cause the metal to entirely fill the thread of the die.

In order to remove the watch-case center from the die, the parts E and G, Fig. l, are separated, the sections of the die D lifted off, and the die E removed, and I remark that this die E will also be made in sections if the grooves 5 and G are undercut; or it may be broken at one or more places after being hardened, so as to be opened or taken apart. The watch-case center L is now to be removed from the die A by unscrewing the same, and the watch-case center is complete and ready for polishing or otherwise finishing, and the dies are put together and the operation repeated. In some .kinds of watch-case centers the metal that is adjacent to the face 2 of the die G may be turned off to a greater or less extent.

If a screw-thread is to be placed at each side of the watch-case center, the part E will be similar to the part G and receive a screw-- thread-ring die like the die A, and the rollers employed will be properly shaped to act upon the center.

In making use of the dies Figs. 7 and 11 for making screw-threads upon the lid and the bezel, the operations heretofore described are repeated, except that in making the lid by the dieFig. 11 a stamped-up blank lid may be made use of and the roller M, Fig. 12, is pressed against the blank lid to enlarge the rim and press the same-firmly into the screwthread of the annular die A between the faces 2 and 3, and after this operation has been performed the roller M, Fig. 13, is made use of to form a flange beyond the screwthread and against the face 3 of the die A, and it is usual to apply ornamental knurling or figures at the portion 9 of the die E, so that the roller M presses the metal of the lid against the ornaments at 9 to produce upon the lid the desired ornamentation, and at the same time to form the flange or rim of the lid against the surface 3 of the die A.

In the manufacture of the ring or bezel for the glass by the tools represented in Fig. 7 a flanged ring is inserted within the annular die A, and the roller Q, Fig. 8, is pressed against the same to force the metal into the screw-threads of the die A between the faces 2 and 3, and at the same time to spread the metal outwardly to form a rim against the surface 3 of the die A, and in this instance the die E is usually ornamented with knurling or designs at 9, and the metal is pressed against that knurling by the roller Q, Fig. 8. After this has been done, the rollerR is made use of to bend the inner edge of the ring or bezel to form the conical reflecting-surface at the interior of such bezel, as seen at 12, and after this the roller S, Fig. 10, is made use of, which serves the twofold purpose of forming a seat for the edge of the glass or crystal and of further pressing the metal into the knurling or ornamentation at 9, so that the ring when it is removed is complete and ready for polishing or otherwise finishing.

In my patent, No. 382,517, tools are shown for spinning up the lid or back of the case, and also the reflecting-bezel. The disk therein shown for protecting the interior of the lid may be used with the tools herein described, as indicated by dotted lines L in Fig. 11.

I claim as my invention- 1. The annular die A, having upon its interior surface a screw-thread, in combination with the die G, having a face 2, adjacent to the screw-thread of the die A, and a suitable roller for pressing the sheet metal of the watclrcase center, lid, or bezel against the screw-threaded portion of the die A, and forming a screw-thread thereon between the face 3 of the die A and the face 2 of the die-G, substantially as set forth.

2; The annular die A, having a screw-thread upon its interior portion, and a face at 3, in combination with the die G, having a face 2, adjacent to the screw-thread, the ring-die D,

IIO

for forming the ornament or pattern upon the outer surface of the watch-case center, and rolls for pressing the sheet metal of the watch-case center into contact with the surface of the annular dies A and D, substantially as set forth. I

3. The combination, with the annular die A, having a screw-thread upon its interior face, and the die G, of the annular die D, the die E, having annular grooves, die E, and the series of rolls applied successively, as described, for pressing the metal of the Watchcase center into the annular 'dies and thickening and folding over such metal, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination, with the die having a screw-threaded interior surface, of a roll acting against the inner surface of the sheet metal of the watch-case lid or other article, to force such metal outwardly into the screwthread to produce an external screw-thread without a corresponding internal indentation, substantially as set forth.

6. The combination, with an annular die having a screw-threaded interior surface, of a roller to act within the sheet-metal article and press the same outwardly into the screwthread of the die to produce an external screw-thread on the article Without corresponding internal indentations, substantially as set forth.

Signed by me this 17th day of May, 1889.

F. EOAUBERT.

VVitn esses: V

GEo. T. PINoKNEY, WILLIAM G. MOTT. 

